Joe recounts the very first meeting he had about Disney's Animal Kingdom. It was a very brief discussion with Michael Eisner possibly back in August 1989 where it was stated that people like animals and people like Disney. There were many ideas floating around the company and it was in many ways a dark horse. They had to overcome the Strategic Planning report that came to conclusion that Disney didn't want to enter the zoo business. The team saw the report as almost a guideline of what not to do in bringing a Disney animal park to life.